Baldwin Family Blog: Celebrating with Friends

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Celebrating with Friends

I really wanted to make Mackenzie's 16th birthday special, so we decided on a night with her friends, filled with all kinds of things she loves...shopping, sushi, a sleepover & and an outdoor movie to end the night! Shelby, Sarah, Geniyah, Grace and Mackenzie came to celebrate with us. We started out at the mall, trying on fancy dresses in Dillards. I think this is the third time I've taken Mackenzie and her friends to do this, and they love it every time. This time, somehow the girls decided it would be fun for me to try on a fancy dress! I think most 16 year old girls would be completely embarrassed by their mom doing this, but Mackenzie basically begged me to do it. So of course I couldn't let her down! =0) After trying on dresses, we walked around the mall and ended up shopping at Maurice's. I told the girls to pick out an outfit for Mackenzie...Mackenzie Sears was the ultimate fashion designer & picked out the perfect jeans, shirt and boots that looked so cute on Mackenzie, so we had to get it all! She has the sweetest friends & it was fun to watch them laugh together all evening. Then it was time to head to the hibachi/sushi place for dinner. It was a very fun atmosphere and I think the girls had a great time! After that we headed back to our house for the outdoor movie night. Brian outdid himself...he put up lights on the trampoline and made the backyard look so pretty with the big movie screen set up. We had all kinds of snacks and we watched the new Hocus Pocus movie! I didn't realize it ahead of time, but part of the storyline is that a girl is turning 16 in the movie, so it was perfect! We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful October night to do this. Mackenzie's actual birthday was the next day, so it was fun for her to wake up with her friends there! We took them to church with us, and then they were picked up from there. We rested for a few hours after that, and then headed to Hideaway to celebrate with our family. I really didn't want Mackenzie's birthday to be a let-down because she wasn't getting a car...but I think we succeeded in making it a special celebration for her!